Reading tops Bronson, wins district crown

Saturday

Mar 2, 2013 at 9:30 AM

By Gary Baker

sports@thedailyreporter.comCENTREVILLE — The joy of victory and the agony of defeat.Both are unavoidable in a district final game, as both Reading and Bronson experienced on Friday night in the Class C district 68 at Centreville.Reading (14-9) found a way to win, taking a 45-34 win over Bronson (13-9) to take home the trophy and earn a trip on to regional play next Tuesday night at Bronson High School."We were a little worried about the legs, playing three games this week," said Reading assistant coach Tim Davis. "But they dug down deep and found something."Reading went 8-of-12 from the free throw line in the final 2:55 to secure the win, outscoring Brosnon 10-5 in the fourth quarter. For the Vikings, the game was marred by 26 turnovers that came at inopportune times for Bronson. At times, the Vikings got something going, but a turnover seemed to erase any progress made."You can turn the ball over 26 times," said Bronson coach Andy Hatt. "We gave them too many chances."It was a close contest in the third quarter, as Reading came out and took a three-point lead with a leaner from Michelle Davis to make it a 23-20 game. Bronson responded immediately with a three-point play from Skyler Sobeski to tie it up, but Reading went on a 10-2 run with all the points coming from Davis. Bronson recovered, closing out with a small 4-2 run, cutting the deficit to six points going into the fourth.Bronson got a bucket from Amberly Bercaw to open the fourth, making it a 35-31 game, but the Vikings managed only three more points in the quarter, as they were forced to foul Reading in the late moments. Despite shooting 52 percent from the line on the night, Reading made the charity buckets when it counted. The difference in the contest seemed to be Reading's scrappy, tenacious play on the defensive end."Yes, they played good defense," said Tim Davis. "That's been our bread and butter all year. We thought we rattled Bronson a bit. They are so strong and deep."For the Vikings, poor second half shooting helped contribute to the loss, as Brosnon shot 16.7 percent from the field in the final 16 minutes — making only four field goals. The Vikings never seemed to get in a comfortable routine on the offensive end, making it difficult to put points on the board."We weren't able to comfortably run our offense," said Hatt. "I think were capable of executing, we just didn't do it tonight."Bronson was led by Skyler Sobeski's eight points, three rebounds and two steals. Kylei Ratkowski and Liz Baker added five points each; Kinslea Blouin had six points; Kassidy Bystry and Amberly Bercaw had four points each and Mallorie Bassage added 10 points and two rebounds.Michelle Davis led all scorers with 19 points, seven rebounds, three steals and three assists. Jami Hubbard added 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals; Brittany Marquart had nine points and five steals; Tayler Coe had four points and four rebounds; Jenny Davis had two points and Sumer Rodgers added a point.Reading faces Hartford in the Class C 17 Regional on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. at Bronson High School.